A few tips for putting Pinterest to work for your brand:

• Add the “Pin It” button to your product pages or blog posts. It’s easy to do and you can add the button along with your other social media sharing buttons.
• Create a Pinterest account for the brand itself and reach out to “visual influencers” on Pinterest for help getting your images re-pinned. Pinterest allows any user to follow any other user without requiring a follow-back. You may also tag other users in your pins, comment on pins and re-pin (the Pinterest version of a retweet) others’ content.
• Create boards beyond your own products and brand, but relevant to your location and industry.
• Utilize the description fields when creating Pins by adding keywords and geo-modifiers. Not only is this SEO 101, but Pinterest addicts often use the search feature to find relevant pins.
• Keep pinning!  The search results and Pin feeds change up-to-the-minute, much like the Twitter feed and Facebook Ticker. Maintain a steady flow of Pins to ensure your products are staying top-of-mind.

For SEO linkbuilding purposes, the benefits of Pinterest are pretty self-evident. Some basic info on Pinterest links:

• Each and every Pin links back to the original source site or the file location (depending on where it was originally pinned from). Unless you’re purposely optimizing for image seach, a product page or site link is probably better.
  

  Standard pins provide links to the source site in two locations.

• A Pin provides do-follow links in multiple places. The image itself acts as a link in addition to the “From:” link in the top right-hand-corner.
• A pin comes with embed code for syndication to other sites like Facebook and Twitter, helping to develop backlinks to the Pin itself.
• Pins are editable! You can edit your own Pins with updated URLs or reach out to Pinners who may have pinned your images from an unfavorable source site. Pins are easy to edit and the new URL you provide does not need to host the image, though I don’t recommend you use a link without the original image.
• Because of the visual nature of Pinterest, it is a great way to promote infographics. Make sure they are Pinned to appropriate boards and contain relevant descriptions to ensure they are shared.
• You can even add a Pin It button to your company’s blog pages by using the WordPress plug-in.

Thanks to the intuitive nature of Pinterest’s interface, I think the best way to get going is to request an invite and just dive in. Remember, sign-up is currently via invitation-only, so ask a friend to invite you or request one from the site (it doesn’t take long). Let me know what you think about these tips in the comments, and if my screenshots piqued your interest, follow me on Pinterest!

These twitter accounts, along with those of their fans, were an epicenter of activity last week. On Monday, February 14th, Radiohead posted via Twitter: “Thank you for waiting…”, which was followed by a link to www.thekingoflimbs.com, a website designed for the release of “The King of Limbs,” their new album slated to become available for download the following Saturday. Four days later, on Friday the 18th, Radiohead tweeted again: “It’s Friday…It’s almost the weekend…You can download ‘The King of Limbs’ now if you so wish!”

Fond of doing things differently, Radiohead are known for their innovative and genre-bending music. While the quintet could be cited as one of the most influential bands in modern music, it’s also clear that they are also exploring the marketing of their music in a way that no other mainstream band has attempted before.

Anyone who followed the most recent album releases by Radiohead already knows that they’re changing the way music can be released to the public, especially by a major artist. After completing “Hail to the Thief” in 2003, they had fulfilled their recording contract with EMI, and they chose to remain independent rather than signing with another label. They recorded 2007’s “In Rainbows” on their own and released it on their website as a direct download with the asking price of “pay what you want.”

This alone posed numerous questions to musicians, music lovers, and music industry professionals, causing a minor existential crisis in the recording industry. It called into question the value of music, especially considering the widespread piracy of music. It questioned whether musicians really need major record labels to market their work. But most importantly, it bridged the gap between the band and their fans. Radiohead offered an immediate and direct transaction, so one would know that the money they paid for the music (if they chose to pay at all) was going directly to the artists and producers responsible for creating it.

By default, Radiohead relied on their previous successes, fan base, and name to market their new music, so their achievements with “In Rainbows” cannot be applied to unknown artists. However, the way “The King of Limbs” was released last Friday redefines the relationship between musicians and their fans. The band chose to use Twitter as the medium for announcing the album, and they again utilized their own web servers to facilitate the release. While the “pay what you want” aspect was ditched for a $9 price tag on a set of eight mp3s, fans could still remain happy knowing that their money was going directly to the artists that they want to support.

Already on very short notice, the instantaneous “early” release of “The King of Limbs” caused Twitter and other social media sites to flood with reactions to the album, and it nearly caused Radiohead’s download site to crash. Music critics, eager to get the official first review, listened to the album hastily on their laptops that morning and posted track-by-track assessments merely an hour or two after the album was released–to much criticism by fans, claiming that new music cannot be properly reviewed so quickly. Regardless, the social media world was rocked by this new release, providing an open channel of communication between the band, their critics, and their fans. Whether you like the new music or not, it doesn’t take much to think that Radiohead might be up to something.

Six days prior to the announcement of “The King of Limbs,” Ed O’Brien, guitarist and back-up vocalist, posted a blog entry on the band’s web site entitled “The Dignity Revolution.” (Also coupled with a tweet–they’ve connected their blog and Twitter account, a sign that they’re aware if the importance of social media.) It reads as follows:

What have twitter and facebook ever done for us?

Obviously, keeping in touch with everyone but I have to say I have become increasingly excited over the last 3 months about the possibilities of this form of communication.Yes I am very slow out of the blocks. It’s in the arena of public protest that it seems twitter and facebook are increasingly the means by which popular movements throughout the world are able to come together and mobilise.

In some ways, one could argue that Radiohead are leading a popular movement, and Mr. O’Brien has an extremely valid point. Their use of social media, like Twitter, allowed for a direct and instantaneous connection between the artists and their audience, just as the release of “In Rainbows” allowed for a direct and open transaction. Thom Yorke, lead singer, once remarked in an interview: “If people want to play it for themselves, why don’t we just give it to them to listen to?”

Aware of their massive fan base, the band decided that they can conduct business as they so please, using the high-speed connectivity of social media to do so. And while lesser-known artists may not have the audience that Radiohead has, thus being more vulnerable to reviews, it’s also clear that those musicians also use social networks as a way to market themselves on their own terms. That trend can only increase in the future, and that is what I believe Yorke and Co. are trying to prove.

Is Radiohead leading a music industry revolution? It’s hard to say. With highly successful performers such as Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, who are promoted and made famous through the marketing strategies of major recording labels, Radiohead’s business model might not be for everyone. Either way, social media provides an effective channel to promote their music, and Radiohead have become a successful example of a group of artists marketing and releasing their own work, instantly and directly, as they see fit.

There are several reasons I recommend e-mail newsletters. Not only do they provide free information, they are also one of the least expensive and most effective tools to draw attention to a site.  Below are some additional advantages to implementing a company e-mail newsletter.

Stay in Touch

Stay in contact – Keep your business top of mind to your customers so that when they need a service you provide, they will contact you.  Newsletters serve as a reminder to customers to come back to your site.

Develop relationships and trust - You become familiar to your subscribers. Familiarity encourages return visits and establishes customer loyalty.

Promotional tool – A great way to communicate new products and announce new services.  Specials or discounts are a way to attract customers back to your site.  Offers entice subscribers who may not necessarily need the service but will be prompted to act during a special.

Increase site traffic – Again, good to send out when launching a new product or service.  Gives subscriber a reason to visit the site, helping drive additional traffic .
Set specific delivery time – Complete control of when information is disseminated.

Trackable – Use the newsletter as a research tool to see what people read about most and what they are most interested in hearing about.  Research will allow you to write a newletter for a specific target audience.

Provides immediate results – Real time statistics and data provide you with the information needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the newsletter.  Tweak future newsletters from that information.

When developing your newsletter consider the following:

• Content has to engage readers.  Articles should be more informative and less like an advertisement.
• Keep articles brief.
• Use images to attract reader’s attention.
• Use links and provide URL’s as additional resources.
• Frequency is key. Stick to a regular schedule. Try to send out same time every month or week.

So if you are looking for a cost efficient way to target and reach a large group of customers or potential customers, consider an e-mail newsletter.

Coming in for a smooth landing

1.)    Your Company Logo clearly marked in the top left corner of your landing page.

Your company logo is your brand and it is what is going to clearly connect your landing page to your website.  You do not need or want the exact navigation that exists on all of your web pages, it offers too many distractions and takes up too much room, most likely forcing the more important information (the Form) below the fold.

2.)    The only content needed is a few credible and useful facts that must satisfy the users search inquiry.

Display this text concisely using bullet points.  The messaging should match the ad copy and try to use relevant keywords. Only add relevant images that will enhance the users intent to take action.  Do not use stock photos for design because it will likely distract the user from the intended action.

3.)    Make the point of your page loud and clear with clear and obvious calls to action.

To be golden be loud and clear

If you want the user to fill out the form or call a number don’t make it difficult for them. Add the phone number clearly in the top right of the page.   Add a visible contact form that is above the fold, and does not ask irrelevant questions like “how did you hear about us?”  Since, we can track all of our leads in analytics, we do not need to ask this question, so don’t ask it!

4.)    Add your credibility symbols above the fold.

This is very important, because the users need to immediately see a reason to trust your brand, if they do not see it right away, they will not scroll to the bottom of the page, but they will hit the back button to find it somewhere else.

Visible trust symbols are also very important for the ad copy.  For example many of our client’s are plastic surgeons, and we cannot say, “board certified” in the ads unless it is proven on the landing page.

5.)    Offer links to more information or to other pages on your website.
Link to the website at the top and the bottom of the landing page and from your logo.  Add “read more” links to your bullets points, which will allow the uses to find more information.   Remember you do not want to use too many links out because this will distract them from the purpose of the page, but not using any, the user will use the back button and navigate off the page, which is the last thing you want to have happen.

Everything else will distract you from your purpose.  Yes your pages should look good and be visually appealing, but they should be simple.  Make sure all content is fact and not marketing jargon, also provide links to read more.  Read more about this in Technique: How to build the best PPC landing page , 7 deadly sins of landing page design and 8 Dimensions Of Excellent Landing Pages.

Airplane image courtesy of Flickr user: Rennett Stowe

Bullhorn image courtesy of Flickr user: LuMaxArt

The tactics of Local Facebook Marketing just got a whole lot easier to understand. Sarah Smith gave up the goods in her presentation at the Local Search Summit. It turns out there are some very subversive ways to use current Facebook technologies. Marketing on Facebook just got a lot easier.

Local Search Summit 09

Don Campbell gives a great overview of the ideas presented in our “Using Facebook and Twitter to Drive Local Leads” session. And, I’m looking forward to Aaron Irizarry posting the rest of the video…

… But in the mean time, I’m going to share some ideas based on the Facebook marketing presented by Sarah Smith.

I’m so excited by these ideas that we’re going to be implementing some of them THIS WEEK with clients.

But look, I’m even more excited by what YOU are going to do with them. Please comment and let us know what you think the opportunities are.

Ok, ok – so the list:

• Kinda mundane but still very helpful: Sarah indicates there is now radius based targeting for ads (e.g.: 15 miles around city X)
• Real-time Search with greater search granularity.
• Target just your fans or people coming to an event with Facebook Ads (this is definitely cool, and I can see some good applications but not mind-blowing).
• Birthday Targeting! Holy cow! This is huge. I have a whole program already laid out for this one.
• 1 to 1 communication with Event attendees/maybes. The pain point here is less obvious – you’ll get it when I ‘splain it.

Killer Facebook Marketing Opportunities:

Birthday Targeting:

Happy Birthday to You!

So, Birthday Targeting – my goodness, how subversive can you get?! Imagine yourself cruising along in Facebook and Blammo

“happy birthday Bob, click here to register for your birthday gift – good all month”.

Notice, we plan to message “good all month” (or “all week”, or “for the next 10 days”). There is still a serious call to action but clearly it’s an obtainable goal.

The challenge of the Birthday message in Facebook marketing is that if you make it a “today only” deal you may miss those who sign in after work hours or who are otherwise unable to commit today. Maybe they’ve got a party to go to .

You can see how this would be a killer tactic for a local business. Let’s say you have a non-impulse product. You could make an offer of a $25.00 commodity gift card (Wal-mart, The Gap) or $100.00 gift certificate for your service. Even if you’re not perfectly targeted you have the opportunity to start a dialog with a local buyer who knows someone who is.

Event Focused Permission Marketing:

Facebook event invitations are becoming much more prevalent. And, it turns out given this new feature, they’re a sneaky marketing opportunity.

Ant Party

One of the problems we’ve had with “Fan Pages” vs. Facebook Groups is that there is no way to push communication to your fans. You can post something which will show up in their feed but  you can’t get into their inbox without a more personal connection.

So, Sarah says that all you’ve got to do is get someone to respond ”Yes” to your invitation (or “Maybe”, I think – hopefully Sarah will clarify) and you can then message them up until the event.

But wait, there’s more: You, the group owner don’t necessarily have to initiate the “Event” invitation. Meaning that you can easily convert the Fan to a Friend with much less restriction on continued messaging.

I’m not going to tell you how we’re going to put this one into use but I’ll tell you once we’re done.

—

As you can see, these two opportunities, “Birthday Ads” and “Event Focused Permission Marketing”, enable much greater attention getting behavior on Facebook. Marketing through these channels can get you past the banner blindness of the usual ads and may even get you into the Inbox.

With the rate of adoption of Facebook and Twitter we’ll take any opportunity, the more sneaky and subversive the better, to build community and then hopefully move that community offline to buy something.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how to best leverage these new Facebook marketing opportunities and any of the others Sarah detailed at Local Search Summit.

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Related Posts:

• Pay-per-click Facebook Advertising Delivers Low Cost per Lead

Image Credits:

• Birthday Cake Image Courtesy of Pink Cake Box
• Ant Party courtesy of Flickr user tarotastic

I have been intending to post on this since before my friend Chris Schultz wrote his “10 Tips for Launching Your Startup” in which he brushed on the core concept, the Customer Engagement Cycle: A C I P R (Awareness, Consideration, Inquiry, Purchase and Retention (Referral)).

Take for instance the “Referral” above, I’ve come to realize that this is as valuable as “Retention” in the model. And sometimes is more effectively leveraged toward referral than repurchase.

Chris Schultz and I were both reminded of this at a recent Net2NO meeting (New Orleans Net Squared Group) by Chris Skinner, a New Orleans local and a big-brand search pioneer.

Being an entrepreneur trying to lead our business, with a little tunnel vision, I tried to apply it to my own recent experience, and below I’ll share that with you.

At the time, “awareness” seemed a heady concept but I’ve since come to recognize how it applies to what we do. Often as not, our customers’ “Customer” is already Aware. They know the product exists. There are clearly times, however, when it behooves us to drive awareness as well, and I’ll close with that story. As you think about these, their meaning is pretty obvious but I’ll editorialize in case it’s not all the way there for you.

Customer Engagement Cycle Defined

• Awareness
  “Hey, check that out. I didn’t know that was an option. Wow, that’s kinda cool. Glad I saw that”
• Consideration
  “You know, that thing I saw might fill this need / desire. Hmmm”
• Inquiry
  “Hi, I heard about that thing, and I have a need. Do you guys have that thing? Do you think that thing fits my need? Could I come down and talk about that?”
• Purchase
  If anybody is unclear on “Purchase” raise your hand please.
• Retention
  “Hi Bob, this is Suzie down at widget-town. I wanted to check in and see how you’re enjoying that thing. Oh really, that’s great! Glad to hear it. Keep an eye on your inbox because we’ve signed you up for our newsletter with some great tips on maintaining that thing. Thanks again Bob, we appreciate you.”

So, Skinner gives his talk and I say “yeah, yeah, Awareness — big brand heady stuff”.

Consideration, I get that. That’s what keyword research is for, right? You’re thinking about it, you’re typing it into Google and I’m taking you where my client wants you to go.

Inquiry – that’s when conversion matters. You’re asking questions, I’ve got answers and I need you to know how to get those questions answered. Once you arrive, I need to get you in our funnel so we can make sure you make it to the next step.

Purchase…

… cha-ching!

Retention: or as my step-father always said it’s much easier to sell to someone who’s already bought from you.

But what about referral? Your customers can be your fans if you let them. My friend Mack Collier talked about social media as “Making Yourself a Rock Star” and I think it was taken in the wrong connotation. His intent was not that you should put yourself on a pedestal, engage in substance abuse and fly around in private jets, it was that if you made a point to make fans from your customers you would have all the free promotion that fanaticism brings.

I often reference my BNI membership and it proves the value of a good referral.

For instance, one of my BNI fellows recommended us to a friend who is having a reputation management issue. I met the guy for lunch on Friday, we talked for an hour and he signed for a nice sized one-time fee. I was pre-sold by the referral and it got us past the point of proving the value to discussing the issues.

Finally, back to Awareness and a couple recent stories which led me to my to rethink my perspective.

And really finally on Awareness, I had an epiphany about Twitter. How many of you have heard of Twitter ? Twitter is a micro-blogging platform used for quick messaging encompassing both broadcast and dialog. For those of you not using it, it’s like instant-messaging to hundreds at a time, with the occasional conversation breaking out. It’s definitely a bit of work to find out with whom you’d like to connect, but once you get going you’ll find it easy to grow those connections.

In thinking of Twitter and some of the things we’ve got going on with a couple clients I came to the realization that Awareness isn’t necessarily a big-brand issue. Awareness often applies to making a prospective customer Aware you exist.